Oscar Robertson talked about how he influenced the fight for racial equality. (2:57) The meeting that took place in Branch Rickey's office in Brooklyn in August of 1945 has an almost apocryphal status. A Dodgers scout and a baseball player traveled to New York to meet the Dodgers general manager. Robinson had a sore shoulder and was not going to be able to throw from the hole as Rickey had requested. Rickey and Robinson were measured. There was a long minute of silence. He stared at Robinson as if he were trying to get inside the man. Robinson looked back. At some point during the meeting, Rickey would insult Robinson like he would insult the field. He told Robinson that he would have to control his temper and that he would have to be physically attacked. Robinson wrote in his book. I asked Mr. Rickey if he was looking for a Negro who was afraid to fight back. I will never forget how he exploded. He said he was looking for a ball player with guts that wouldn't fight back. Robinson signed a contract to play for Montreal in the International League in 1946. There was no guarantee that Robinson would be the first black player in the majors. To that point, there wasn't much experience on Robinson's baseball, and he had to be great as opposed to good. On the 75th anniversary of Robinson's debut with the Dodgers, his skill as a player is sometimes overlooked when honoring his cultural and historical impact. We learn and remember what Robinson went through, the abuses he suffered, and the pressures he faced. The meeting in Brooklyn was the beginning. Robinson was going to play after the deal was signed. And, oh, could he play baseball? Robinson was surprised that Rickey chose him. The best young player in the Negro Leagues at the time was Josh Gibson, who was destined for the Hall of Fame. It was thought that one of the three would be first, but the other two were too old by 1945 to return to baseball, and the third one, Irvin, did not think he was ready to return after serving in World War II. Robinson might not have made it to the Monarchs tryout had he not been paid more than his job was worth. In two years at UCLA, Robinson was a star halfback for the football team and a letter winner in basketball and track, but he was best known as a baseball player at Pasadena City College. He played one season of baseball for the Bruins, but no one mentions him in his book. Baseball was not the best sport for the young man at the time. Robinson reached the semifinals of the national tennis tournament for black players and won the Pacific Coast intercollegiate golf championship. He won swimming events at UCLA. Baseball was perhaps his seventh-best sport. Robinson was discharged from the army in 1944 and went on to play pro football. He got a job as a physical education and basketball coach at the all-Black school at Samuel Huston College in Austin, Texas. Robinson says in his book that he found his way to a tryout with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues because he heard they paid $400 per month. He must have impressed the Monarchs quickly. In the April edition of Negro Baseball magazine, legendary sportswriter Sam Lacy named Robinson on his list of prospective players who could integrate the majors, calling him the ideal man to pace the experiment. Robinson was one of the best players in the league. In 34 league games, Robinson hit..450 with four home runs. He had all the tools Rickey and Sukeforth were looking for: speed, hitting ability and, most obvious of all, an intense competitive drive. Robinson joined Brooklyn in 1947 after leading the International League in batting average and runs and finishing second in stolen bases and won theRookie of the Year Award. He won the National League's Most Valuable Player award in 1949, leading the league with a.342 average and 37 steals while scoring 122 runs and driving in 124. He scored 773 runs in his first seven seasons, more than any other baseball player. Musial had more hits than anyone else. Musial, Ted Williams and George Kell all hit for a higher average than Robinson. Nobody stole more bases. There was a bigger gap between Robinson and Musial than between Musial and Robinson. Robinson was a great player. It is almost too easy to attribute his success to the fact that failure was not an option. It was an important part of his career with the Dodgers, but it also undersells his ability. As a hitter. Robinson adapted quickly to major league pitching, despite the fact that he couldn't hit an inside pitch to save his neck. He had a hitch as he brought his bat back, his bat starting almost parallel to the ground, a style seen more often back then. Robinson might have trouble pulling his hands in to handle things inside. Robinson had the bat speed and hand-eye coordination to do damage on those pitches. Robinson hits off his front foot a lot in the highlights, a style that was more popular in those days, when most players weren't selling out for power on every swing. Roberto Clemente was a famous front-foot hitter. Robinson was a line-drive hitter and his career average shows it. He hit 19 home runs in one season, but still reached double digits in nine of his 10 seasons with Brooklyn. Who is the greatest baseball player of all time? The 100 best to ever take the diamond were ranked. The top 25 are: 26-50, 51-100, and snubs.
Who is too high, too low? » | Full list »
The difficult case of Oscar Charleston »
Which current stars are next up? (ESPN+) »
Rickey said in 1950 that he was as good a hitter as he had ever seen. They don't have the same power. Robinson has the same power regardless of the count. Even after one might think that he has committed himself, he can lay off the pitch at the last second.
Robinson's plate discipline stands out more than anything. He drew a lot of walks with the Dodgers. The numbers were outstanding even in the lower strikeout era. He was among the top strikeout-to-walk pitchers in the major league.
The 22nd was 1947.
The 42nd of 1948
10th of 1949
1950: 8th
The 8th of January 1951.
The 8th was in 1952.
The 9th was in 1953.
5th of February 1954.
1955: 2nd
The 11th was in 1956.
He was not going to give the pitcher an advantage by swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. He could beat you in many ways. Robinson was considered to be the best buntinger in the game back then. He led the National League in sacrifice hits in 1947 and 1949. In his excellent book "Opening Day", Jonathan Eig reported that Robinson had 14 singles in his first season with the Dodgers, a skill he would continue to use throughout his career.
There are base paths.
His speed was a big part of his game, but he was not a graceful runner, with his arms flailing away from his body to propel him forward. He was a football running back, tearing around the bases. He was 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 My late father-in-law would tell me that there was nothing more exciting than watching a baseball game.
Robinson's daringness on the base paths seemed to take opponents by surprise because there wasn't much base-stealing in those days. George Case led the American League with 28 stolen bases in the year before Robinson joined the Dodgers. Two other players were over the age of 20. It was station-to-station baseball. Robinson, a force of nature, whether or not he was running all the time, he was certainly threatening to run at any time. He led the NL in steals in 1949 with 37. The big leads off the base were legendary.
It has been a long time since a man in the league has an upsetting effect on every infielder when he gets on base, according to Cubs manager Charlie Grimm. You have to make a play for him because he takes a good lead. You have to try and pick him off. He sets up the play himself, and there is no choice but to make him take a step back.
In the field.
Robinson's fielding wasunderappreciated. When Bill James published his New Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001, he showed that Robinson was one of the best defensive second basemen of all time, to a degree that might even surprise Robinson's most ardent supporters.
I would not rule out the possibility that he was a better defensive second baseman than the people who watched him. It must have been difficult to see him for what he was, even when he was in front of you, because he was such a controversial figure. I wonder if it is possible that the intelligence of the man created benefits for his team that only show up in the statistics.
Are games too long? Baseball has a new generation of stars. The topics that will shape the game beyond this season are dug into. The state of baseball.
James pointed out that Robinson was versatile. According to the win shares method, Robinson's defensive statistics are off the charts. He played in left field for over a thousand years. Robinson had 81 runs saved over his career. All this, and keep in mind that defense usually peaks early in a player's career, as was the case with Robinson.
Observers might have underestimated Robinson's defense. His game was boring in the field. I think he is playing defense the same way as Roberto Alomar, chewing up ground as he chases after ground balls. Robinson, no doubt, made routine plays look easy; he didn't have to dive for balls because he was the best athlete ever to play baseball.
When you add it all together.
Robinson's best season might have been 1949, when he was the Most Valuable Player, which Baseball-Reference values at 9.3 WAR, the best among all National League players. Maybe it was 1951, when he hit.338/.429/.528 and again led the NL in WAR, at 9.7. He led NL position players with 8.4 WAR when he hit.308/.450/.465.
Robinson's top three are tied for fifth and tied for 14th in the best seasons by a second baseman since integration. Joe Morgan has five of the top 11 and is considered the best second baseman since World War II and the greatest ever alongside Rogers Hornsby and Eddie Collins. Morgan had a full career. Robinson's prime seasons were cut off by the war and the color barrier.
Robinson's career WAR is still 15th among second basemen. What could have been the total? Robinson should be put in the major league at 21 like Morgan. We will give him an average age-21 season, transplant his age-28 rookies season with the Dodgers to age 22 and then assume he reaches peak performance level in his fourth season. We get something like this.
Age 21: 2.5 years old.
Age 22: 4.1
Age 23.
Age 24: 7.5
Age 25.
Age 26.
Age 27: 10.0
Age 28: 7.5
Age 29
His totals the rest of the way.
Age 30: 9.3
Age 31: 7.4
The age of 32 is 9.7.
Age 33: 8.4
Age 34: 6.9
Age 35: 3.6
Age 36: 2.6
Age 37: 4.5
Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, and Ted Williams are the only position players who played at least part of their careers after integration.
It is impossible to know if that is an optimistic projection or not. His peak years were from 28 to 32. Robinson was one of the all-time greats, and in many cases was better than he was acknowledged for.
We like to put different players in different eras. What would Babe Ruth do today? What if the knees of Mickey Mantle hadn't gone bad? Maybe we don't have to do that with Robinson. The legacy of the man is not about what he could have done. 75 years after the first game at Ebbets Field, it lives on because of what he did.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) permits California residents, or their authorized agents, to opt out of the “sale” of their personal information to third parties. The CCPA defines the term “sale” broadly, and it may include sharing certain information for particular advertising purposes. We never sell personal information to third parties for money. Please visit Your California Privacy Rights for more information about California residents’ rights and our privacy practices.It's necessary to provide this service or other features.
There is a sale of personal data.
When you visit this website, we and our partners may collect certain information about you, your devices, and your behavior, and this information to third parties to provide you with certain advertising on this site and across the web tailored to you. You can opt out of certain advertising on this site by using the opt out button above. Your choice will not apply to any other property if you opt out on this website. Each website of the Walt Disney Family of Companies has an opt out button. You can change your opt out selection at any time by clicking the link on this site. You must use this link to exercise your opt out on third parties engaging in their own sales as defined by the CCPA. If you opt out of personal information being used for advertising, you can still see ads that are tailored to you and your interests. Certain data collection activities can be controlled by you or your authorized agent. Do Not Sell My Personal Information Rights is a website where you can learn more.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
